Catch me if you can

I’m on the road for two keynotes later this month on the business of arts and culture. The first, at American University for their Arts Management Spring Colloquium, will be my first attempt at a collaborative keynote with my dear colleague Russell Willis Taylor of National Arts Strategies. The second is the opening keynote for the Arts Enterprise Summit, a national gathering of university students, faculty, and colleagues interested in connecting business and art in their learning and in their work.

An Oxymoron’s Guide to Arts Management

A collaborative keynote with Russell Willis Taylor, President and CEO, National Arts Strategies

American University Arts Management Spring Colloquium

Friday, February 18, 2011, 4:00 – 5:30 pm

Professional management of cultural enterprise can so often seem an exercise in opposites. Arts offer expression and creation; management encourages containment and control. And while this dichotomy may be a myth, it’s a pervasive myth that leads many arts leaders and arts organizations to be less creative, less transformative, and less joyful than the ‘art’ in their title might suggest. Join two internationally experienced arts leaders as they challenge us and each other to connect the dots between art and business with more intent, nuance, and impact.

The Art of the Business Model

Arts Enterprise Summit

Sunday, February 20, 2011, 9:00 – 10:00 am

The way you design your creative organization or arts career has a huge impact on the value you create with it and draw from it — in money, in productivity, in work/life balance, in creative satisfaction. This keynote and conversation will explore the inner workings of a business model, and how arts organizations and artists are aligning those elements in dynamic and innovative ways.